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Guillem Balague analyses Barcelona and Real Madrid La Liga campaigns

In his last column of the season, Sky Sports’ Spanish football expert Guillem Balague reviews both Barcelona and Real Madrid's season's....

Barcelona

The league table could have a different look about it had Sergio Busquets not come up with a life-saver of a goal deep into injury time at the Mestalla on November 30. At the time Real Madrid were top of the table and would have gone further ahead had Busquets not struck in a match that Barcelona had never looked like winning.

On their first match after the winter break Barcelona played at Real Sociedad. On the bench were Lionel Messi and Neymar who had returned late – with the club’s permission – from their homes in South America.

Neymar celebrates scoring his second goal against Bayern Munich
Image: Neymar has played a key role

It would never happen again.

Barcelona lost 1-0 in a dreadful display and it became clear that things had to change. Luis Enrique probably saw it as well. From then Barcelona lost only once, a freak 1-0 home defeat to Malaga.

The second Clasico against Real Madrid was on March 22 and the chances are that whoever won this game would go on to win the title. Victory put Barcelona four points clear at the top.

Defeat would have put Real on top. Barcelona won with two clinical strikes and despite being the better of the two teams once it front, were not the better side over 90 minutes. It was surely then they must have realised that the league had their name on it.

Luis Suarez scores Barcelona's winner
Image: Luis Suarez scores Barcelona's winner against Real Madrid

Suarez’s goal against Real Madrid in the second Clasico showed the world what they knew all the time, namely that the Uruguayan is without question one of the world’s top strikers.

It wasn’t his first goal for the club but certainly the most important up to that point and served notice that the front three of Messi, Neymar and Suarez were almost unquestionably the top three-man strike force in the world.

In the run in the only real banana skins facing Barcelona were Atletico Madrid and Espanyol, who never need much of an excuse to put one over their wealthy neighbours. Barcelona’s display that day showed that they were almost certainly going to take the title.

Real Madrid

A mixture of poor rotation, poor team selection and inherent distrust in some of the players at his disposal will almost certainly cost Carlo Ancelotti his job at Real Madrid. One of the players he trusted with his life was Xabi Alonso.

Graphic
Image: Real Madrid failed to replace Xabi Alonso

On August 12, Alonso played for Real Madrid in the European Super Cup against Sevilla and was booed and whistled at by his own fans. He decided to leave for Bayern just after the season had started, a blow to the heart for Ancelotti who despite initial success never really replaced him. Had he stayed at the club the chances are Real might well have regained the title, but we’ll never know.

One of the most relevant incidents to affect Real Madrid actually had nothing to do with them. It happened at the San Siro on November 16 when Italy were playing Croatia and Luka Modric suffered a thigh injury that would keep him out for more than three months and coincided with the club’s worst run of the season.

MADRID, SPAIN - APRIL 18:  Luka Modric of Real Madrid CF leaves the pitch after being damaged during the La Liga match between Real Madrid CF and Malaga CF
Image: Luka Modric's injury came at a crucial time of the season.

On the January 4 Real came to Valencia looking for their 23rd straight win and left on the end of a 2-1 defeat. More than just the defeat, for the first time cracks looked to be appearing in what had been up to then an unstoppable Madrid machine

Their poor form was never more clearly seen that in their 4-0 capitulation at the Vicente Calderon when they were demolished by a rampant Atletico side. Undoubtedly the worst Real performance for many a year and one that showed that this clearly was not a side that was going to win the league title.

While Barcelona were seeing off the challenge of Real Sociedad with a 2-0 win, Real Madrid were dropping two points at home to Valencia, meaning that the Catalans only needed to win at Atletico to secure the title and could even afford to lose there and still become Champions with a home victory over Deportivo in their last game. Another tale of squandered chances for Real.

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